Pet Groundhog

We recently discovered two groundhogs that crawl under the fence from our neighbor's yard (where we believe their burrow is) into our yard (one at a time) to munch on our "lawn." 

I had to look the up online to see what they were. They must not have ground hogs out west because these creatures are totally foreign to me so when we looked out the window and saw this enormous rodent, we were hesitant to know what to call it but I was pretty sure it had to be a ground hog, and it is.

I like watching the bigger one chomp the dandelions.  We were excited to have these "pets" but after our big derecho storm last week, we haven't seen them.  We're not sure if they have retreated from the heat, or if the neighbors have done something to get rid of them. 

Dogs

After Little Guy's dog themed birthday party, we were sitting around, not doing much, wondering how many stuffed dogs our family owned. So we gathered them up for a family picture.

Back Row (L to R): Barkers (B), Heart Doggy (B/LG*), Donut (B), M&M (LG), UPS (B), Bubble (LG), Grem (LG), Snoopy (LG), Santa Fe (B), Porkchop (PS/B**), Cuddles Jr. (LG), Finn (LG), Lavender (PS).
Front Row (L to R): Cuddles (N), Caramel (B), Mint (B), Fido (B), Sundae (PS), Spot (B), Spunky (PS), Curly (PS), Chocolate (LG), Candy (LG), Cupcake (PS).
The answer is 24.

* Heart Doggy was bought for baby Buddy who never cared much for it.  We got it back out for baby Little Guy and it's been part of his dog pack for awhile, but Buddy tends to try to steal the dogs that Little Guy owns that he thinks are cute, and Heart Doggy isn't one of Little Guy's favorites, so it changes allegiances frequently.

** We bought Porkchop when I was pregnant with Princess Sparkley but really, Buddy's the one who loves that dog and it lives in his bed.

Little Guy is 28! In Dog Years.

For Buddy's 6th birthday, we had a dog-themed party.  We basically copied that party and just changed things up a little.

The invitation.  I used a similar invitation idea for Buddy's 4th birthday party. Each bone had party information on it.

The guests arrived (4 guests since he turned 4).  They decorated their good bags, made 

doggy headbands and collars. 

We read the board book, Doggies, by Sandra Boynton to decide what dog bark was going to be ours and practiced making all the dog sounds.

Then we had Doggy Obedience School where the "dogs" learned to sit, lay, speak, roll over, shake and fetch.  They were rewarded with a doggy treat (Scooby snack).

In action at Doggy Obedience School.

We read the book Dog's Colorful Day.  And my sweet husband drew Dog for me.

Our library story time in Kansas did this story and stuck colorful felt circles on a flannel board.  I thought it would be more fun to stick them on Dog.

I told the little kids they could put the dots in the right spots, or just wherever.  After the party, Princess Sparkley rearranged the spots so they were all in the right spot.

We had a little extra time, so we also read Dog's Noisy Day and the kids had to make all the animal sounds.  It was fun.

We also played Doggy, Doggy, whose got your bone?  Sorry, no pictures of that.
And then, since this was supposed to be a Chocolate Lab party, not just a dog party, we had Chocolate Lab cupcakes.

And the goodie bags:

Before going home, the kids got to adopt a dog.  For Buddy's party, I found some Beanie Babies on Ebay, I didn't have time to wait for shipping so these little pups are just from Dollar Tree.

And, it turns out I didn't have any lollipop sticks, so the kids just got peanut butter paw prints.

And frosting the cupcakes took FOREVER, so the doggy bone sugar cookies they got in their goodie bags never got frosted.

They also got Chex Puppy Chow (aka Muddy Buddies), some doggy stickers and a bouncy ball along with their adopted dog.

Little Guy got some great presents.  Legos, which he LOVES!!!  Buddy has already helped him build them all.  He got a super cute dog book called Chowder and a dog puzzle.  And one mom got a Webkinz Lil' Kinz Bulldog (since named Grem) and put it in a little felt bed and made it a collar and a blanket and included a little silicone bowl and a bag of "dog food" which were just chewy Lemonheads.  Super creative.  If we ever do a dog party again (although twice should probably be my limit) that's the sort of gift bag thing I'd like to send the kids home with.

New puppy relative

Our Richmond cousins got a Goldendoodle from Santa for Christmas so we went down to meet her for New Year's weekend.  Her name is Molly Doodle and she is adorable.

Snake

I was sitting inside yesterday afternoon when Princess Sparkley came running up from downstairs yelling that she needed the camera.  Why?  There was a snake outside.  What?  I looked out the window and was surprised to find B outside holding a tiny snake.  Yuck!  Afterwards he said he couldn't remember how many years it had been since he'd held a snake.  Me.  Never.  So we hurried out with the camera and snapped some pictures before he carried the snake to the grassy "alley" behind our house and let it go.  Hopefully he slithered into someone else's yard.  We think it's just a garter snake.  Correct us if we're wrong... or maybe don't, in case it was super poisonous or something.

New Pets

Sign that my kids desperately want a pet: They spent fifteen minutes coming up with names for the 20 tiny gel packs of turquoise Cascade dishwasher soap we bought because they thought they were cute. (Pacifica, Perry, Agent P, Cascade, Falls, Turko, Teal, Gray Bluey, Bluey, Ocean, Sea, Sky, Lake, Atlantis, Soapy, Soap, Dish, Wave, DW, and Turkey.)

I posted that on Facebook and a friend suggested we get pet plants. So we did just that.

We just got the cheapest plants Walmart had. Buddy wanted a palm tree. Little Guy wanted a cactus. We got their $2.50 look-a-likes. PS liked hers because the leaves are purple.

Little Guy's was named Darth Vader. It may have chanced to Storm Trooper. Buddy's is Clone Trooper and Princess Sparkley's is Amethyst. Here they are with their plants throughout the rest of the day. Little Guy took his all over the house with him as he played while the big kids finished up school work. It was pretty cute. PS insisted on reading a book to her plant.

Fenway

I took the picture of Fenway standing on the lawn looking at the camera (what he's thinking is, "I sure wish I could eat that thing.")  Princess Sparkley took the other pictures.  I especially like the close up of his head.  And, amazingly, she got all these pictures without him getting the camera.

Mr. Fenway

Little Guy and my dad's dog, Fenway, are becoming friends. Little Guy calls him Mr. Fenway. Their friendship works best if Fenway is otherwise occupied. If not occupied, Little Guy gets licked in the face a lot which he does not enjoy.  Tonight Fenway was in the computer room on his blanket chewing a toy and Little Guy was brave enough to sit on his back for a second, like Fenway was a horse.  Mostly he's scared to go outside and get licked.  Buddy is pretty fearless around Fenway now and while he's out in the yard working on the fort Fenway follows him around and I can see Buddy talking to him.  The other day he ran into the house excited because Fenway had helped dig a really big hole in the fort.  PS does okay with Fenway.  Not scared, not really friends.

Princess Sparkley's Pet

For Princess Sparkley's birthday/baptism, PS's cousin G insisted she buy PS a pet to match her new one. The end result, a thrilled Princess Sparkley, and a fuzzy white dog named Strawberry (or, according to Grandpa L, Whitey). And then, of course, there was a photo shoot put on by PS.

The Most Amazing Hamster Tunnel

Buddy created this hamster tunnel for Princess Sparkley's new Webkinz Hamster, Sweetie.

Little Guy's Pets

During school the other day, I found Little Guy like this watching an alphabet video.



This is when I asked him for a littler smile.

Hamsters

PS must have taken this picture. Both big kids, PS especially, are obsessed with hamsters right now. We got a "how to care for you hamster" type book on clearance at the bookstore a few weeks ago and last week PS checked out a video on caring for your hamster from the library. And she talked B into checked it out again this week. Buddy got his Zhu Zhu* pet hamster for Easter (it's the dark brown one). PS got hers with leftover Christmas money a few months ago. B told them he'd get them a hamster when we go to New Hampshire (get it, hamster... Hampshire). That trip will be no time soon.

*Little Guy is at times terrified of the Zhu Zhu pets because one chased him down in the kitchen.

Buddy is turning 6! Arf.

I saw this party idea and was sad that Baby X already had his birthday. Then I realized that Buddy loves dogs. I showed him the blog and he loved the idea.

The Invitation:

Designed on Smilebox.com, printed out and mailed.


The Prep:

Dog bowls for their cake.


Dog collars. Each kid picked either their own name, or a doggy name.


Doggy Ears headband.


B, the better cake decorator, was nice and decorated the dog food cake for me. I caught him with a mouth full of cereal.


Dog Food Cake. Just a regular cake, baked in a bowl, flipped, frosted and covered in Reese's Puffs cereal. The blog where I got the idea used a real dog bowl. I was too cheap to buy a dog bowl I'd never use again.


The Gift Bags:

Each gift bag contained the following items, plus a
doggy pencil, doggy stickers and piñata candy.


Paw print pops... Princess Sparkley and my first attempt at making candy.


Puppy Chow for the gift bags.


Dog bone sugar cookies.


Decorating for the Party:

I bought Ty Beanie Baby dogs on ebay (6 for under $10).
Then a "handkerchief" of doggy fabric I had leftover from a blanket I made my nephew to tie around the doggy necks.


Piñata from Party City full of Easter sale candy.


The Party:
After the kids had made their collars and headbands, we read McDuff Moves In and Don't Lick the Dog. Afterwards, I realized I could have had a lot of fun with Dog's Colorful Day too. After the books, we went to Doggy Obedience School where the doggies learned to sit, lay, speak, and roll over.


We played "fetch" and they received Scooby Snacks as their rewards.


We played Doggy Doggy Who's Got Your Bone?
My favorite game from Family Night when I was little and one that my kids have enjoyed.




Princess Sparkley as Spunky.


This doggy chose to go by his human name.


Doggy Rex.


Doggy Sparky.


Doggy Lucky.


I bought these little food boxes at Michaels and used them as "doggy houses" for the Beanie Baby dogs.


The doggies.


The doggies with their tongues out.


It was rainy all day, so B decided we should do the piñata inside.


Doggy Fido blowing out his candles.


Princess Sparkley and Buddy helped me make dog themed place mats. I offered to let the kids eat like dogs without their forks. They all wanted bowls of water (which I refused) and to eat on the floor (which I refused), but I noticed that they all used their forks.


Buddy's been wanting this present for awhile and was thrilled when one of this friends brought it. He loved all his presents. And Baby X loved all the presents too.

The thank yous will be a picture of each doggy... with a note written in "dog." Arf arf. Woof woof. Car race track. Bark bark. From, Fido.